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Month: May 2017

Genre: Murder Mystery / Suspense / Thriller

After having read the first part of Miranda’s Rights, I was very much interested in reading the first part of “Miranda and Parker Mysteries”. Knowing how their relationship is progressing now that they are married was very highly anticipated. However, the book could not live up to my expectations.

The story started well with giving a decent introduction to the couple post marriage. Anyone who had jumped from one series to the other without having read the books in between, like me, still would get properly aligned to the book right from the start. The flow is impressive and the way the story connects from “Someone Else’s Daughter” to “All Eyes on Me” is simply well done. Of course it is still recommended that the book be read in its rightful sequence, as there are many things that could only be understood if the series is properly followed, Nonetheless, there is no loss in skipping the paid copies, as Linsay has got it properly covered.

However, the relationship between Miranda and Parker could have been shown in a better light. It is understandable that the two of them are immensely attracted to one another, but showing that in almost every page was really not required. After having suffered such a huge accident in the previous book, Miranda might be physically weak but the way she is portrayed all through the series was enough reason to not assume that she would be emotionally weak. Being her husband, when Wade tries to protect her at every step, it felt really fake. Too much PDA through writing could have been very much avoided.

Leaving the unwanted romance aside, the mystery in itself was wonderfully written. Again, like “Someone Else’s Daughter“, the killer can be easily guessed right at the chapter which gives a one page POV of the killer. The way that chapter had written gave out enough clues to point the killer out. But still, the story takes the reader through a whole lot of maze which makes the reader question their guess at multiple stops through the book. That, in my opinion, was beautiful writing.

Also I did not like the way O’Toole’s character suddenly turned good. After being literally humiliated by Parker and especially Miranda on various grounds, his character could have pulled his weight for some more time. The truce felt a bit too soon and forced into the story. Ralston’s character, too, was underdeveloped. She had played such an important role in supporting the PIs and towards the end, she just vanished. Having subtly enforced the feminist theme all through the series, when such a strong female character was underused, it stung. That could have been avoided.

There were also some typo errors through the book, which was really surprising. But they were very few and far between so it will not affect the reading experience. Overall, go for this book for the brilliant mystery, and totally skip the romance part. It is a nice experience.

Like this:

Genre: Murder Mystery / Suspense / Thriller

Before I started the book, I went through some of the reviews in GoodReads. They were mixed ones with some negative current underlying. But having liked the blurb of the book, I thought of going ahead with it anyway. And that happened to be a wonderful choice for me.

There is nothing not to love in this book. Miranda Steele is a very believable character. The things that she has gone through in her past has only motivated her to get stronger and bolder in her attitude towards life. The “Steele” she has in her is only further enforced by her incessant liking for very hot peppers. She gets the break of her life by getting noticed by Wade Parker, who is a PI. The attraction between them is natural and goes well with the story.

The story is wholly focused on Miranda, with Wade getting some POVs in between. The central female character gives the story a better feel. The male character is also written in such a way as to give enough importance to him but not having him overshadow Miranda. This gives a very woman-centric theme to the book, which makes it enthralling.

The actual murder on which the mystery is based is also nicely scripted, although at times I felt the author wants the readers to figure out the killer way before the final reveal. I could guess the killer about 60% into the book and was proved right at the end, albeit in a very surprising way.

Linsay is a wonderful writer. She added enough witty comments in the book to make the reader literally laugh out loud in certain situations, thereby ensuring the story does not turn boring or monotonous. Her style of writing ensures that you cannot keep the book down till you reach the very end. I am looking forward to more wonderful cases with Miranda and Wade. They make a wonderful couple and are in perfect sync to solve mysteries.

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A thinker, dreamer, ponderer, I love to think of things which normally people wouldn't. These thoughts are put into words for the world to read through my blogs.
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